Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Around here the summerlike weather doesn't kick in until around lunchtime, so by the time dinner comes around we're feeling in the outdoor mode. We made sliders, or rather super turkey mini-burgers that I "improved" with all kinds of secret stuff! You can do the same. Use your favorite burger recipe -- mine uses turkey (or chicken), an egg, a splash of Worchestershire, crushed garlic, minced onion, a half cup of rolled oats -- and I mixed in finely grated carrot and not-so-finely chopped broccoli. Yes, broccoli! You can see the bits in the patties here if you look closely. I like chunky burgers, and the tiny broccoli pieces cook up nicely while the patties are frying or grilling. You can add any kind of veggies you like; whatever you have available in your fridge. If you serve with homemade barbeque sauce (ketchup, maple syrup, mustard powder, celery seeds, lemon juice to taste) your kids won't even notice. So good.

I put the patties on a lettuce leaf so he can tear and eat them in lettuce wraps (Protein Style), and I added a cherry tomato and yellow bell pepper butterfly along with carrot flowers. Fruit side has black grapes, a half plum, a half peach and a couple of lychee. Oh, and a bunch of forest friends, since otherwise it's a pretty dull-looking bento. Yay!

This is great! Kind of reminds me of my mom's burgers except she instead of the rolled oats and brocolli, she added tofu to the mix (the egg binded it all together). Can't add too much tofu otherwise, even with the egg, it crumbled or was too 'soft'. But it was tasty! Yum yum! I love all the little pandas! I think I'll try this for next week.. I'm so excited! lol.

Thanks Chantale! I've used tofu before too, with similar results. Maybe the oats would improve binding? I like the idea of adding extra protein. Maybe I'll try it again! Can't wait to see yours :)

Yay for cute Debra! You're the patty queen.My local lychee aren't all that delicious, since I've been spoiled and stubbornly resistant to overindulging non-Hilo lychee. Thus they're still around. But I'm still hoping the next batch is better...

Yum, inspiring! Love the idea of turkey sliders...and making them healthier and more interesting with your suggested additions! Your knack for healthy, charming, tasty bentos (and recipes) is such a delight, sherimiya. Thanks!

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About Me

I am a former research scientist turned stay-at-home-mom of 2 who got started with bento in an effort to help my kids learn that eating healthy and nutritious foods can be fun and cute. I make a bento lunch for my 14yo (9th grade) son & my 10yo (5th grade) daughter every school day, and post the pictures on my sherimiya ♥ flickr photostream. Here in this blog is where I describe each bento, and you'll also get a peek inside our family adventures. Thanks for taking a look, and please let me know what you think ^-^!